Seven Up
Berkeley Law lands most selections for California Attorney General Honors Program
IN THE CLUB: Participant Annabelle Wilmott ’22 says she’s excited for the program’s deep level of training and mentorship.
The selections include 2024 graduates David Beglin, Truman Braslaw, Becky Hunter, Sierra Killian, and Amaya Ramsay-Malone, as well as Brandy Doyle ’22 and classmate Annabelle Wilmott. The highly competitive program enables recent law school graduates and newly admitted lawyers who are committed to a career in public service to work with experts on vital issues in criminal justice, consumer protection, environmental preservation, and more.
“Berkeley Law’s public interest counselors played a critical role by helping me prepare my personal statement, answering questions about the application, conducting mock interviews, and providing needed guidance and reassurance,” Braslaw says. Lecturer Ted Mermin ’96 also “encouraged me to seek public sector work and took time out of his busy schedule to meet with me individually about the Honors Program.”
Supporting policies and initiatives that are administered by state agencies, the recipients will work in the Attorney General’s Office in either San Francisco or Sacramento — drafting legal pleadings, getting courtroom experience, and receiving hands-on training, career development programming, and mentorship.
Hunter will join the Environment Section; Braslaw and Killian the Health, Education & Welfare Section; Doyle and Wilmott the Civil Rights Enforcement Section; Ramsay-Malone the Land Use & Conservation Section; and Beglin the Consumer Protection Section.
Ramsay-Malone relishes how entry-level attorneys in the office regularly take on substantial roles in important cases, and the prospect of learning quickly from experts in the field about how to effectively litigate and advocate on behalf of California residents.
“I’m a lifelong Californian and have lived all over the state, so I’m excited at the opportunity to serve fellow Californians and hope to bring that unique perspective to my work,” she says.
Beglin credits several Berkeley Law experiences for paving his path to the program: doing a field placement semester at the California Department of Justice’s Worker Rights and Fair Labor Section, volunteering at the Workers’ Rights Clinic, and taking the State and Local Impact Litigation Practicum.
Doyle says she always knew she’d go into public interest law. But she never considered working in government before a recommendation from Berkeley Law Field Placement Program Director Sue Schechter led to a rewarding internship in the Attorney General’s Office during her last year of law school, prompting her to explore the Honors Program.
“I also got support and tips from recent Berkeley Law grads; it was a big help to connect with other alumni in the program,” Doyle says. “There’s so much great work happening, and I was excited to see how the office takes on some of the same problems I’d tackled as an advocate earlier in my career.”